Taste of Uganda’s local cuisines
Did you know that some people visit certain destinations because of food? Food is part of all cultures, a major element of global intangible heritage and an increasingly important attraction for tourists. Ugandan cuisines consists of traditional and modern cooking styles, practices, foods and dishes with English, Arab, Asian and especially Indian influences.
Blessed with several cultures and native languages, Uganda’s communities have district traditional dishes. In central Uganda, you will be tantalized by the matooke and luwombo (plantains eaten with meat or chicken boiled in banana leaves). In Uganda also known as Buganda matooke is a respected dish and is prepared with so much art and care. It is a norm for all women and girls in Buganda to know how to peel and prepare the dish to ultimate satisfaction of their families. Matooke is eaten mostly with groundnuts, beans, beef stew, chicken stew, and many others. It is a delicious dish one should try.
Luwombo
This is a traditional dish comprised of sauce steamed in banana leaves. It is locally known as “luwombo”, it is a special dish that graces important cultural ceremonies such as weddings, introductions, visitations and other festivals. The most common sauce prepared in luwombo includes chicken sauce, groundnuts sauce and meat. Luwombo is one of the most tasty and truly traditional dishes prepared in Uganda. There are also many more fascinating dishes in many cultures of Uganda which you will discover on community visits around the country. Most of these foods are prepared in hotels and lodges and in respective areas.
Malakwang
Malakwang is a northern Uganda dish made from leafy vegetables and ground nuts. Initially the dish was a reserve for times of drought and food scarcity. It is now a famous dish eaten with many other foods such as millet bread and sweet potatoes.
Kalo
This is a staple food in northern, eastern and western Uganda. Millet flour is mixed with cassava flour in varying proportions and mingled using boiling water. The difference in taste, aroma and appearance of the dish is determined by the proportions in which the flours are mixed. In some cultures like Toro kingdom in western Uganda, the dish is a must for many traditional ceremonies like child naming, visitations and marriage. Millet bread is also eaten with many sauces such as groundnuts, beans, vegetable sauce and mushroom sauce. In the western part of Uganda among the banyankole try eshabwe, it is a delicacy.|
Bamboo shoots (malewa)
This is a special dish in eastern Uganda. Malewa is a vegetable soup made from tender mountain bamboo shoots. It can be steamed, fried, mixed with groundnuts paste or fish or eaten as a vegetable. The bagishu trek to the forest of mountain elgon during bamboo shoot growing season to harvest and dry the shoots.
Grasshoppers (nsenene)
Grasshoppers are a delicacy among many in Uganda especially for those who look forward to this time of year, when millions of the bugs hatch with the seasonal rains. When it is that season of the year, grasshoppers become a commercial activity in Uganda. Some rig bright lamps to attract the insects, which then crash into strategically placed sheets and slide into barrels where they are trapped overnight. When fried with an onion and little salt, they turn golden brown and give a pleasant aroma loved by many. You can’t miss tasting this Ugandan nutritious delicacy.
